IRVINE, Calif., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Digital® (NYSE: WDC) today announced the next generation of its top-selling My Passport® line of portable hard drives, offering consumers a fresh new enclosure design and the first-ever 2 TB capacity in a portable drive. Now available in five popular colors: white, black, silver, blue, and red, with a range of capacities beginning from 500 GB, the new sleeker My Passport portable drives offer digital consumers an appealing array of storage options that reflect their personal style. Additionally, the new My Passport drives offer WD SmartWare™ automatic backup software and WD Security™ for password protection and hardware encryption.

With the addition of premium finishes, specially-engineered to make the outer shell more resistant to scratches and fingerprints, the new My Passport external drives feature ultra-fast USB 3.0 connectivity; USB 2.0 compatibility; continuous, automatic backup software; and password protection with hardware encryption. The included software offers the flexibility to customize the drive to a user's storage preferences: installing all features, just the components needed, or using the drive without the software. The new 2 TB model offers massive capacity in an amazing pocket-sized enclosure, affording plenty of secure storage for all of one's photos, video, music and other important files.

Given the small form factor and easy portability of My Passport drives, the built-in security features of password protection and hardware encryption help protect files from unauthorized use, making the drives safe data repositories for data while offering peace of mind to busy consumers on the go.

"More than money, jewelry and other valuables, the item most missed if ever lost or stolen is one's computer – and everything on it – so our goal in launching the next-generation of the popular My Passport drives is to encourage more consumers to protect their data before something happens," said Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager of WD's branded products and consumer electronics groups. "The new My Passport makes backing up and preserving one's digital life easier, reliable and more secure than ever – it's the perfect blend of monstrous capacity, reliability and user-friendly technology in a sleek form factor, now in five colors."

Pricing and Availability

My Passport drives come with a 2-year limited warranty and are available online at the WD store at www.wdstore.com and at select retailers and distributors. MSRP is $129.99 USD for 500 GB, $149.99 USD for 750 GB, $179.99 USD for 1 TB, $199.99 for 1.5 TB and $249.99 USD for the new 2 TB edition. Additional information on the My Passport family of hard drives can be found at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/.

Join us for an introduction to the new Spyder4 family of monitor calibrators. Topics covered will include new hardware and software features, expanded functionality, and increased accuracy and precision. We'll discuss new ways to use the Spyder4, including facilitating screen to print match, and using it to calibrate iPads and iPhones with the new SpyderGallery app.

Wednesday, March 21th from 3 pm - 4 pm EDT

Join us as Datacolor Color Management Experts, David Tobie and David Saffir explain the ins and outs of the NEW Spyder4 technology and software and how it can help you get the most out of your images. No matter how you view them, from monitor, to print, to iPhone getting color managed images is easier than you think with Spyder4.

Title: Spyder4: Introduction to New Features and How to Use ThemDate: Wednesday, March 21, 2012Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT